Callahan Trem Blocks...Hyperbole or Effective?

[jrfrond]

Even at that, each of them has a different mass. Beyond that it is part of the resonant structure of spring and bridge. Different materials have different resonant characteristics. If you hit each bridge with a hammer it would make a different sound. The string doesn't hit them that hard but it does excite them and the block affects the string. If this thing were wood, you'd agree that material makes a difference, no.

Your statement that the block has no other properties than mass is a mechanical version of saying that a capacitor has no inductance.

I agree 100%. All metals and their variations, just like wood, have specific resonant properties. In my "other" life, I am a drummer and work closely with some drum and cymbal manufacturers as a consultant. The most popular alloy for cymbalmaking is B20, which is 80% copper and 20% tin. There are a few different processes for alloying, casting and hammering this alloy into cymbals, each one yielding a specific sonic result. Same alloy, different sound, due to the different manufacturing methods.

[Mark Hammer]

I think tremolo blocks are similar to things like the "Fathead" device intended to increase sustain by adding mass to the headstock. There are circumstances in which they add appreciable benefit of the type claimed, and circumstances where they do diddley squat.

The tricky part is identifying whether the circumstances that YOU face, on THAT guitar, match the circumstances where the device does what is claimed.

In the case of tremolo blocks, I think it is worth considering that the impact of any added mass on the sustain of heavier gauge strings might be different than that achieved with thin gauge strings.

[jrfrond]

The initial intent of the trem block was to even out "warble" caused by vibrating strings. The first Strats had no "inertia block". Then it was discovered that the vibration of a given string would affect the others, so mass was add and the block was born, and it was machined out of steel, typical in 1954. The block also increased sustain due to added mass. Reduced sustain is an issue because there is no direct contact between the bridge and body on trem-equipped Strats.

Moving up to the CBS era, it was found that die-casting these blocks was much cheaper than milling them out of steel.

If you do an A/B comparison, the IS a difference between brass and steel, and a MAJOR difference between those and die-cast Zamac.

Newer trem systems e.g. Trem-King overcome the deficiencies of the traditional Strat trem by moving only the tailblock while the bridge remains stationary and in constant contact with the body.

[uvacom]

Does the callaham's repositioned pivot point on the bridge plate improve tuning stability substantially? How would you guys rate the callaham vs a good 2-point trem in this regard?

[overdrive]

Next, the material: die-cast zinc flat-out sucks, period. Worse still are all of the otherwise good-to-excellent budget Strats and knockoffs that employ a trem with a thin, wedge-shaped, lightweight block. Most of these guitars can be brought to life by installing a decent trem with a good block, and a good block is made either from steel or brass.

Thus...on a MIM Stratocaster, switching to steel should make a difference.

In this particular application, steel is steel.

Thus...on a MIA Stratocaster which already has a steel trem block, no big deal or difference. Makes sense to me. Afterall, once the signal is amped, mic'd & run through a PA who could tell (other than maybe Eric Johnson) whether the steel trem block was cold rolled, hot rolled or handbuilt by an ancient Sumarian craftsman.

They have a Titanium block too, for stupid money.

For the moneyed gearhead who probably spends more time tinkering with a phillips head screwdriver than actually playing the guitar itself.

[jrfrond]

Thus...on a MIM Stratocaster, switching to steel should make a difference.


Thus...on a MIA Stratocaster which already has a steel trem block, no big deal or difference. Makes sense to me. Afterall, once the signal is amped, mic'd & run through a PA who could tell (other than maybe Eric Johnson) whether the steel trem block was cold rolled, hot rolled or handbuilt by an ancient Sumarian craftsman.


For the moneyed gearhead who probably spends more time tinkering with a phillips head screwdriver than actually playing the guitar itself.

Newer MIM Strats have a full-sized block. Not sure if it is zinc or steel. However, on the older MIM's with the chintzy Sung Il thin-block trems, it makes quite a bit of difference.

I personally wouldn't invest the money in a titanium block.

[spud1950]

The full size block on the newer MIM Standard Strat is zinc.

[jrfrond]

The full size block on the newer MIM Standard Strat is zinc.

I just verified that by taking a look at a new MIM Strat that my son's friend purchased and I am setting up. The full-sized block is a step in the right direction, but I personally like steel or brass, depending on the tone needed. A steel block will brighten a dull guitar, while a brass block makes the mids "sing" and support bass very well, which works nicely if the guitar already has sufficient highs. The MIM's are alder and are NOT generally dull guitars, so I prefer to go with brass on these. Good candidates for steel are poplar and basswood.

[David Schwab]

First of all, GOOD blocks anchor the string ball-ends at the BOTTOM of the block, not up near the plate. If they are anchored up near the plate, it takes the tonal qualities of the block out of the equation.

They put the holes near the top to help with keeping the guitar in tune.

Tell me how that takes the block out of the equation? The block's mass is still connected to the bridge plate, springs, etc.

[David Schwab]

Even at that, each of them has a different mass.

How so? We are talking about a block of steel. The weight of an object is proportional to its mass. If both steel blocks weigh the same, they have the same mass.

Your statement that the block has no other properties than mass is a mechanical version of saying that a capacitor has no inductance.

That doesn't even make sense. It's an inertia block. It reduces the warble of the bridge when you pluck a string. That's the mechanical part.

It has no electrical properties, just as it doesn't have any magnetic properties (from the other poor analogy).

If you take two blocks, and they both weigh the same, they will sound the same.

Leo's patent (2741146) states:

"The Bar 25 ("trem block") is relatively massive, preferably formed of solid material, and the tension springs 28 are preferably quite stiff so that unless the control arm 34 is manually oscillated there is no tendency for the bar 25 or springs 28 to vibrate when the strings are plucked. The mass of bar 25 and stiffness of springs 28, may, however, be maintained at a minimum because of the close coupling of the bridge portions 22 and the fulcrum ridge 15. With this arrangement the entire bridge structure normally acts as a rigid member. Thus, no tremolo effect occurs except at the wilI and direction of the player."

[Steve Conner]

If you take two blocks, and they both weigh the same, they will sound the same.

Will they though? To take John's analogy, imagine a cymbal or snare drum shell made of diecast zinc. It's not going to sound that good.

Of course maybe the inertia block isn't the same thing as a cymbal or drum shell, and the analogy is invalid. It could be that its resonances and internal damping aren't significant to the guitar tone, and all that matters is its mass. I certainly don't hear much through the amp when I tap my block with a screwdriver through the hole in the back of the guitar, and I somehow doubt a Callahan one would ring like a bell.

To confuse matters further, my (American Standard) Strat came with a 2-point tremolo with two large studs and knife-edge pivots, in place of the old-school 6-screw arrangement. It came set up floating, so you can whammy up a little as well as down, and it stays in tune fine.

Even with the inertia block, a Strat will warble slightly, and bending one string hard will lower the pitch of the others. It's probably part of the Strat sound.

I'm looking forward to the depleted uranium trem block and tungsten saddles, for that heavy metal sound

[Mark Hammer]

One of the things/sounds I wish I could do is that olther-worldly gargle sound Jeff Beck gets by quickly bending and releasing his tremolo arm while playing. Should I assume that the mass of the tremolo block is related to being able to do that (given your comment about supressing "warble")? Or is it purely a function of the springs or something that Mr. Beck has been endowed with and mere mortals are not?

[Steve Conner]

I don't think it's a case of quickly pressing and releasing it, so much as giving it a good whack. Or pushing it down and letting your hand slip off the end so that it springs back violently.

It probably works better on a Floyd Rose, where you can beat on it without knocking it completely out of tune.

[jrfrond]

I agree that it can be easy to discount nearly-intangible factors as bunk, or rationalize/derationalize them with convoluted equations and/or fuzzy logic. However, the principles I mentioned can and DO work in practice. Anchoring the strings far into the block, different block materials, different saddle materials, string tension, spring tension, anchor points (2 vs. 6)..... they ALL contribute in combination to affect the final sound of the instrument. Mind you, these differences are usually palpable ACOUSTICALLY, even on solidbody instruments, and there probably isn't a person here that will dispute that acoustic sound in a solidbody instrument translates through pickups. This is why a crappy acoustic-sounding solidbody will ALWAYS be a crappy electric. You can try to polish the turd by installing expensive boutique pickups, but it is still a turd.

Simple physics dictates that any change in weight or density affects the way an object resonates. Different woods and metal alloys have different densities and therefore affect resonance.

[Mark Hammer]

I got myself a front row spot to watch his picking hand when he came to town last year, and unfortunately did not come equipped with a high-speed/hi-res camera to do motion-capturing of his thumb action on the arm. I can confirm that it certainly IS a quick press and release, but I find the "boing" achieved perplexing and near impossible to achieve. Part of it is certainly the extra bend in the arm, and what that angle does to both the manner in which one strikes it, the mechanical advantage achieved (or not), and so on. But to the extent that the block is intended to damp unwanted "afterevents" of tremolo-arm use, I'm wondering what the weight of Beck's block is.